I’m fat, fit and fighting back
JOIN a gym with a female instructor and you don’t expect her to be 23 STONE.
But that’s what you get with Lauretta Johnnie, who insists: “You be fat and fit.”
Lauretta, 50, runs classes for tubby men and women. A size 26, she is also training to teach “phat yoga” sessions.
Lauretta’s story is remarkable She said: “Three and a half years ago I could hardly get up off the sofa. My muscles were so weak I had to use walking sticks.
“Emotionally I felt so negative and I knew my life had to change. Exercise did that for me.”
Happier
Lauretta’s classes include curvy aerobics and feature low and medium impact exercises.
She said: “It’s so rewarding to be able to get people to say ‘I love myself.’ We spend a lot of time punishing ourselves, focusing on being a size ten.”
A Birmingham uni study this week claimed that if you are fat you cannot be fit and that obese people have a 50 per cent higher risk of heart failure.
But Lauretta said: “Big people need to know they can be fitter. I want to focus on being fitter, happier and healthier.”
Her Full Figured Fitness brand is part of a new trend in the UK, which is lagging behind the 1. Warming up is essential before exercise – try shoulder rolls, knee taps and stretches. 2. I started off my fitness drive by walking. Don’t feel self-conscious – no one knows where you are going. 3. Non-weight bearing exercise, such as cycling and swimming, is a great way to get fit. Or if you head to a gym, try a cross trainer. 5. Chair-based exercises are a good start too. Try resistance bands for biceps curls or leg raises – they are excellent for muscular strength. Plus you can do it watching the telly. 6. Socialise and work out at the same time. Why not go out dancing with a friend? 7. Set yourself a goal. Do you want to walk up the stairs or play with your grandchildren without getting out of breath? You can do it! plus-size fitness drive in the US. She said: “Bigger people are fed up with the way they’re treated at gyms. They’re like pet projects with sympathy overload.
“I couldn’t even get through the turnstile when I joined a gym, which made me self-conscious.”
Lauretta, from Fulham in West I feel I’m not going to fit in and London, always asks her clients they’re for extremely healthy, to get a health check first. good-looking people.
Her success stories include “I tried everything from faddy civil servant Roxanne McKenna. diets to pills to purging but the
She was 18 stone but lost three only thing that has worked is stone in three years and now has Lauretta. I have now accepted the confidence to go swimming the size that I am.” with her two sons. Roxanne, 47, For more information see said: “I don’t like normal gyms. www.fullfiguredfitness.co.uk. be healthy, after looking at their blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels. But a study that looked at 3.5 million UK patients from 1995 to 2015, found obese people who seemed healthy had a higher risk of heart disease, stroke and heart failure. WHETHER overweight people can also be fit is a controversial issue. Obesity is measured by BMI, which is a ratio of your weight and height.It is not perfect because someone with dense muscle can come out as obese. Some experts argue fat people can